Pentecost XXII

By The Rev. Martha Frances+
Year C, Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost; Proper 25
28 October 2007 

Text: Luke 18: 9-14; Other Readings: Joel 2: 23-32; 2 Timothy 4: 6-8, 16-18; Psalm 65 

      At clergy conference the first of October, I heard about a young deacon just out of seminary sent to a rural parish in our diocese.  The first Sunday, the parishioners eagerly awaited sermon time, & from the Monday morning quarterbacking in coffee hour afterwards, folks considered him a very good preacher.  The next Sunday they returned in anticipation of his preaching.  To their surprise, he preached the same sermon that Sunday.  Though slightly disconcerted, they were willing to cut him a little slack; after all, he had moved into his house that week & the baby had been sick.  Sunday #3 came along, & they heard the same sermon once again.  Next morning, the senior warden & a couple of vestry members paid a visit to the new pastor.  They queried, "Son, weren't you taught in seminary that Episcopalians expect to hear a different sermon each week based on that week's gospel?"  "Oh, yes," he answered, "each week I've prepared a new sermon, but I thought I should repeat the first one until it had done some good."

      Today, I face the daunting task of preaching from the Gospel while inspiring the congregation to give joyfully & generously to balance Hope's budget for 2007, consider faithfully your pledge for 2008, & take to heart our part in meeting the Millennium Development Goals!  And people claim priests only work one day a week! 

      After all, I should be able to accomplish each objective in one sermon; I'm the professional religious person!  The Pharisee in today's Gospel was also the professional, & he certainly knew how to pray, didn't he?  He was actually just the type person we're looking for in our focus on growing the parish: not only did he fast twice a week (rather than the once required by the Jewish law), but he also tithed a tenth of all his income—a biblical tithe!  No doubt he headed the stewardship campaign at his synagogue.  Every church would be thrilled to have such an outstanding parishioner as he.  In fact, how many of you squirm a bit as do I at familiarity with this Pharisee?

      The Pharisee's prayer starts out ok; we're always supposed to be thankful in all things, & we live our best quality of life with an attitude of gratitude.  But what is the Pharisee grateful for:  he separates himself from others—those we recognize as the sinners of their society—& holds himself superior to them.  The usual prayer position in those days was standing & lifting one's hands & eyes to heaven.  Because our Prayers of the People come from the Jewish tradition, we also stand when we pray them, but we stand together as community, not each by oneself apart from all the others.

      There's not a thing wrong with WHAT the Pharisee does to make him feels superior:  fasting & tithing—basic  responsibilities of a good Jew, & the Pharisee goes beyond what is expected of him. The problem with the Pharisee's prayer is he doesn't really need God, doesn't even ask God for anything, does he?  The Pharisee is self-sufficient & can do everything for himself.  His prayer is really just glorifying or exalting himself.

      What about the tax collector?  Is he the hero?  Well, it depends.  We don't really know much about him from his prayer, but we know that he considers himself unworthy since he stands a long way off, won't look up to heaven, & beats his breast when he prays.  He certainly knows he needs God's mercy, doesn't he?  He identifies himself as a sinner & asks God to treat him with mercy.  Jesus says that someone who is humble like this tax collector will be exalted.  Jesus is clear, though, that there's not anything either man can do to earn the grace which God so generously offers.  It's just that the Pharisee is so full of himself that he has no room to even ask for the fullness of God's grace.

      I've often wondered whether the tax collector left the temple ready to live his life differently, to let God's mercy & love toward him pour out upon those whom he met.  When God exalted the tax collector, & when God strengthens us for service, what difference does that make in our lives?

      We're each called to live our lives so that we can say, with the writer of the 2^nd letter to Timothy, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."  Paul recognizes that he has done nothing on his own.  He continues, "But the Lord stood by me & gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed & all the Gentiles might hear it."  As Christians, we're called to pray not only for knowledge of God's will for us but also for the power to carry that will out.

      So we turn to the other emphases today assured that we're not about the business of earning our way into heaven.  Jesus already did that for us on the cross.  We're at the task of fulfilling the ministry of the laity put forth in the Catechism (BCP 855) to "carry on Christ's work of reconciliation in the world; and to take [our] place in the life, worship, and governance of the Church."  In fulfilling our commitment for 2007—& perhaps filling in the gap for others because we are brothers & sisters in Christ standing with each other in community—we are strengthening Hope's ability to continue Christ's work of reconciliation in our corner of the world. 

      As far as preparing to make a pledge toward Hope's budget for 2008, we aid the finance committee & the vestry in responsible stewardship of our resources.  I heard again this week the old saw, "Oh, I tithe, but I don't pledge."  I've never quite understood the logic of this practice.  How can we be fully part of a community while withholding the information that family needs to plan adequately for future expenses?  Not only does the church family need to know our intentions; not only do we need to trust the community enough to supply necessary information; but we need to make that commitment to ourselves to be accountable for our financial obligation to the whole community. 

      In preparing for the Halloween Carnival yesterday, I first purchased the cape I wore.  Then, I asked several Hope parishioners who I should be.  One responded, "If it's the witch or Dracula type---we could have you go as a Vampire or someone on the stewardship committee."  Now let's be honest: how many of us sometimes feel that way about the stewardship campaign?  I dare you to volunteer for the stewardship committee next year!  Our committee has done an outstanding job this year.  Let's thank them for a usually-thankless task well done.  My friends, making a pledge is as much for our own spiritual growth as it is for the community.

      Further, in the next 2 weeks, we'll be celebrating the sacrament of baptism.  In fact, we have a rare opportunity to experience a multi-generational Sunday School class on baptism at 9:00 a.m. on the 11^th, so PLEASE plan to come & bring your children!  We believe that God's gift of baptism is complete & doesn't need to be repeated, but we all need to repeat our baptismal vows often in order to remind ourselves of our commitments as Christians.  Next Sunday & the next when we say that, with God's help, we will seek & serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves & we will strive for justice & peace among all people, respecting the dignity of every human being, what do we mean? 

      Today's emphasis on the 8 Millennium Development Goals & 8 ways we can live into them is a key to how we truly care for the world, seeing others as Christs & respecting their dignity.  The Rev. Mark Hanson, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, says, "Our baptism calls us, Scripture compels us, & the world demands that we be a public church—a church that is deeply affected by the pain of others in our interconnected world.  When addressing issues of global concern as a public church we must listen intently to our international partners & commit ourselves to accompaniment—not to lead or follow, but to walk with—on a journey of reconciliation & hope, centered on God's mission of restoring community." 

      Despite our own financial woes at Hope at present, in comparison to much of the rest of the world, we are all wealthy.  We are privileged, & as such, we have the responsibility as average citizens & ordinary Christians to participate in overcoming the great scandal of global poverty.  What can I do, each of us may ask.  In fact, as Christians, we must ask these questions.  Please take this green sheet home & place it in the place where you say your daily prayers.  If you don't have a prayer place, the MDG sheet can be the first sacred object you place in a spot in your home which can become your prayer space.  This booklet prepared jointly by the Episcopal & Lutheran churches—God's Mission in the World—purposes a 6 week study in which we ponder ways we can participate in eradicating extreme poverty by 2015.  Who in our parish has a passion for such fulfillment?  Who will facilitate a group exploring our response?  It's part of our baptismal covenant, folks.  Did you notice the Living Green supplement in Thursday's Chronicle?  We have before us myriad opportunities to be stewards of "this fragile planet, our island home" that are doable, even by you & me.  What is God asking of each of us?  Of us as a parish community?

Pentecost XXI

By The Rev.  Martha Frances+
Year C, Twenty-first  Sunday after Pentecost; Proper 24
21 October  2007

Text: Luke  18: 1-8a; Other Readings:  Psalm 121; 2 Timothy 3: 14 - 4: 5; Jeremiah 31: 27-34 
 

      My son Ken was here this week visiting from Munich, Germany, & once again I heard him tell one of his favorite stories.  A young boy almost 9 years old yearns for his first bicycle.  When he goes to his father to ask for this birthday gift, his father asserts his position as man of the house & tells the boy to go ask his mother.  Mother, aware that Johnny is playing one side against the other, suggests that he pray to Jesus for the bicycle.  Johnny goes off to his room to plead his case with Jesus.

      "Jesus," Johnny begins, kneeling beside his bed, "you know I've been a good boy all year. . . ."  Then he pauses, regroups, & tries a stronger tack.  "I know Mama is special to you, Jesus, & it would save her a lot of time & hassle if I got the new bicycle down at Sears for my birthday."  Still considering that his plea lacks the requisite urgency, Johnny spies the statue of the Virgin hanging above his bed, races over to remove her from the wall, stuffs her inside a winter sock &, after pushing her into the back of his sock drawer, kneels once again, places his hands in prayer position, & begins again, "Jesus, if you ever want to see your mother again, the bicycle is mine!"

      Johnny has biblical precedence in the persistent widow in Luke's gospel, a Biblical character I've emulated for years.  Luke tells us that this parable shows us the importance of constant prayer.  Earnest prayer without ceasing is important for us, & those on the stewardship committee are encouraging each of us to pray about our financial commitment to Hope for this next year as well as what we can do to help end 2007 in the black.  Our committee has gone to considerable length to outline not only Hope's needs for the next year but also the biblical admonition for us to give proportionately, working toward a tithe.  This is not only to keep the doors of the church open & the mission of the church alive but also for each of us to return to God in thankfulness a portion of what we as stewards have been given to care for in God's name.  Essentially, each stewardship communication we receive asks us to go to God in prayer & fulfill our commitment to Hope as our conscience dictates.  The persistent widow models such persistent prayer for us.

      Now sometimes the best thing we can do is to pray about a situation, lay it in the hands of our Savior, & let Jesus deal with it.  I don't want to make light of the power of prayer. However, in looking at the example of our church pledge, we must actually PAY the pledge in order to be faithful.  Prayer begins the cycle of faithful living.  Today, let's also look beyond prayer into action. 

      This feisty widow who knocks on the judge's door & persists in pestering him until he gives her a just judgment gets off her knees & goes for what is rightfully hers.  She is a courageous woman of action, & we shouldn't forget that part of her story.

      In Jesus' time, widows had no legal rights whatsoever.  Sons, & even daughters, inherited their father's estate before a widow.  There was no social security, & there was little opportunity for a widow to enter the workplace after her husband's death.  Widows were a responsibility of their families &, if there was no family, of the community.  We know that widows were often neglected because Paul admonished the Christian community to care for them.  Paul's instructions would have been unnecessary were the Christian community living up to their duty toward the widows.  Widows were often invisible in society, even considered non-persons. 

      Yet, along comes this widow who has some legitimate claim that the judge needs to settle.  Perhaps she has been a non-person to him.  He doesn't fear God or the opinion of others & has put her off despite her legitimate claim.  Finally, however, she wears him down, the scripture tells us, & he grants her rightful demand.  However, he isn't persuaded because her claim is just.  It's because she is persistent.  She is pesky.  She doesn't give up.

      This widow has given me courage in the past.  I have known I had a call to ordained ministry since I was 12 years old, & as my children grew older, the call became stronger.  I prayed regularly about it & asked God to show me the way.  However, had I only prayed & not acted, I'd still be teaching school—an honorable profession, but not where God was calling me.  I had to begin knocking on the doors of judges & other officials in the church structure so I could prepare for priesthood.  I had to knock on the door of the seminary for the necessary education.  I had to knock on the door of the bishop & diocesan committees to be approved for ordination.  I knocked on the door of the Bishop's Committee at Lord of the Streets to be accepted as their pastor. I continued my knocking when we joined together & I became your priest. This widow has been my model many times over the years.

      What action do you need to take to be more wholly the person whom God intended you to be?  The action starts with the fervent prayer which might last all night long just as this widow's did.  Paul's letter to Timothy urges him to be persistent as he proclaims the faith message.  As we question how we will continue Hope's mission & ministry in the future, I'm reminded of Reb Scarborough's admonition to us as we met to develop the community we call Hope today:  continually ask what God's will is for this parish.  If we are persistent in our prayer today, God will guide our action.

      When Jeremiah described God's new relationship with the people who returned from exile to rebuild their society, he could have been speaking to Hope today:  "I will put my law within them, & I will write it on their hearts; & I will be their God, & they shall be my people. . . . they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, & remember their sin no more."   

      The widow shows us that we must pursue the fulfillment of God's call to us.  We must pray & then put feet to our prayers.  Jesus used the example of the widow because she was truly the neediest in society.  Jesus always sides with those who are least able to care for themselves.  Jesus commends similar behavior on our part, & actually, it is for the widows & orphans & others disenfranchised that the church was really established.  Who are we called to look out for today in our community?  How can we at Hope provide more fully for those who are ignored & passed by?  What is our call as Christians toward those who are as vulnerable in our society as the widow was in Jesus's?

      May we, like the widow, know & enter into the life to which God has called us.  May all of us continue to discover what God is calling us to now & in the future. Amen.

Pentecost XX

By The Rev.  Martha Frances+
Year C,  Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost; Proper 23
14 October  2007 

Texts:  Luke 17: 11-19 ;  Other Readings: 2 Timothy 2: 8-15; Psalm 66: 1-11; Jeremiah 29: 1, 4-7

      Jesus & his disciples are back on the road again, & this gospel story moves like an order of worship.  We begin with stories of our faith just as Jesus relates & lives out the Story as he walks along with the disciples on his way to his eventual ultimate sacrifice at the cross in Jerusalem.  We, too, move through our deepening story of faith to our commitment through a sacrifice of praise & thanksgiving at the Eucharist.  Jesus is engaged in a missionary campaign designed to cover many towns while also instructing those traveling with him on how to grow into faithful disciples & evangelists. 

      Where better than the border between Galilee & Samaria for Jesus to encounter those in his society who were the most marginalized:  lepers. The irony is that these 10 lepers wouldn't even be allowed into the house of worship—because of their disease, they were deemed unworthy. Leprosy was a horrible social disease without a cure, so lepers were required to keep their distance from the rest of society yet still had to position themselves close enough to receive the charity of others, begging from afar.  They often lived in colonies as they do even today, thrown together by their common plight just like homeless & marginalized people who find the usual social & racial barriers broken down when they share hardships as well as their experience, strength & hope. 

      The outsiders, insiders only within their own group, cry out in a prayer used through the ages as a breath prayer by many who strive to pray without ceasing:  "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"  The lepers are the only people besides Jesus' own disciples who call him Master, but when they plead for mercy, Jesus commands them to act healed by showing themselves to the priests.  When he calls them to act, they gain dignity by partnering with him in their own healing.  Somewhere down the road as they obey his command, they find they are wearing new skin.

      Lepers could not reenter mainstream society until the priests declared them clean, performing proper rituals on them.  Jesus, always sensitive to the marginalized, makes it possible for them to be reconciled with the rest of their community by healing that which separates them.  Healed of their physical infirmities, the 10 lepers are off to show themselves to the priests so they can rejoin their families & friends.  Nine of the lepers follow Jesus' orders like the literalists they are—doing their duty by going to the priests.  They fulfill the law; that's it.  How many of us spend valuable time & energy trying to figure out what the minimum daily (or weekly) requirement we can get away with of our time, talent or treasure & still belong to God's house?

      And who returns?  Who comes back to show gratitude, to praise God & to thank Jesus?  Only one of the 10 former lepers, now cleansed of one stigma but still wearing another, for he is a Samaritan.  Jesus acknowledges & praises this Samaritan's return, giving thanks to God by offering him more than physical healing.  The word for healing is also translated "salvation," & Jesus tells the Samaritan that his faith has saved him.  The man who recognizes the source of his healing & thanks God for it is offered salvation.  The outsider is the only one who gets it.  The outcast receives the fullness of Jesus' grace, not because he deserves it any more but simply because he's open to it.

      I'm reminded of a phrase in Eucharistic Prayer C which states, "Deliver us from the presumption of coming to this Table for solace only, & not for strength; for pardon only, & not for renewal."  The Samaritan who returns to give thanks receives much more than simply physical healing.  That's what Eucharist, our Lord's Supper, really means: giving thanks, praising God for what God has done for us.  [Much of our music this morning reminds us that our first basic responsibility as Christians is to give thanks—returning to God that which is most precious.]  The Samaritan receives so much more than what he's asked for; he's blessed with salvation.

      Our relationship with Jesus is certainly not one of equality.  The ancient hymn tune from our reading from 2^nd Timothy today is balanced up to a point:

      "If we have died with him, we will also live with him;

      if we endure, we will also reign with him;

if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself."

You see, death in Christ Jesus through our baptism brings abundant life.  In baptism, we die to ourselves, & rise, & live with Christ. If we endure hardships which we encounter in life, we are promised that we will reign with Christ.  But even if we fail in our faith journey, Christ remains faithful because it is in his very nature.  What a gift:  to be promised Christ's faithfulness even when we are not faithful!  We see, however, with the Samaritan, that those who are faithful receive so many more of the benefits of Christ's faithfulness.  What an encouragement to remain faithful to Christ, even in the midst of hardship! 

      And, returning to the structure of our worship service, each time we come to Christ's altar for renewal, we have the privilege to make confession & ask pardon, share the peace of Christ with our brothers and sisters with whom we travel this journey, & then stand around the table to receive a foretaste of the messianic banquet as forgiven & redeemed children of God.  For many of you, worshiping here in the parish hall may feel peculiar because we stand for the Eucharistic Prayer, but this is the posture of the early church as a gathered community celebrating Eucharist—which means giving thanks—together.  You may miss the kneelers, but for the next few Sundays while we're worshiping here, enjoy the sense of community supporting each other that standing gives us.  Of course, it's always appropriate for those who cannot stand to sit or kneel. 

            I cannot tell you today what faithfulness God is calling you to show.  However, I believe that, in our hearts, we know what areas of our lives we must turn over completely to God in order to show the depth of faith which the Samaritan leper showed when he returned to offer thanksgiving.   As we celebrate with praise & thanksgiving the total gift Christ offered when he set his path to Jerusalem & his crucifixion, let us meditate on what gifts of our own time & talent as well as treasure Christ is calling us to share with our worshipping community this next year.  And in everything, let us give thanks!

Pentecost XIX

By The Rev. Martha Frances+
Year C, Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost; Proper 22
7 October 2007 

Text: Luke 17: 5-10; 2 Timothy 1: 1-14; Other Readings: Lamentations 1: 1-6; Psalm 137

      I realize I'm dating myself now, but when I was a girl, my friends & I wore around our necks a chain with a clear little plastic ball containing, right in the middle, a seed which we took for a mustard seed.  Some of us even knew today's biblical passage & that somehow, that crystal ball had to do with faith & the hope that it would grow in us.  In today's gospel, we hear the apostles pleading to Jesus to increase their faith.  

      At this point, Jesus has turned from the larger crowds to his disciples traveling with him toward Jerusalem &, in the passage just prior to today's, has just told them they should not be cause for anyone else to stumble.  Then he gives instructions that they should forgive their sisters & brothers 7 times a day.  Thus, it's not surprising that the disciples cry out to Jesus, "Increase our faith!"  Afraid such exemplary behavior is close to impossible, they plead for enough faith to fulfill Christ's expectations of them. 

      Who among us thinks we can behave in a Christ-like manner unless we are given some measure of strength or faith that we don't already have?  When we sing this morning, "My faith looks up to Thee," we say "May thy rich grace impart strength to my fainting heart, my zeal inspire." Indeed, we've already sung in the sequence hymn, "Who trusts in God's unchanging love builds on a rock that nought can move."  As one parishioner told me this week, it's awesome what we proclaim in the hymns we sing; God give us grace to trust the faith we proclaim through song.

      Yet how many of us are also secretly relieved when we feel like we don't have what it takes to do God's will?  How many of us think to ourselves, "Whew!  I'm sure glad I don't have the brains or the money or the time to go be a minister or a missionary!"  Well, the message in all the lessons today is that we're ALL called to respond to God's love & mercy by behaving like Christ 24/7.  And it's not about what we think we're capable of doing.  It's about God's equipping us to carry out his plans.

      How does Jesus respond to the disciples' plea to "Increase our faith"?  He holds out a mustard seed to them & says, "If you had faith the size of a mustard seed (which you do), then you could uproot that big old tree over there & plop it down in the middle of the lake so it will grow there!"  OR  as Eugene Peterson puts it in his paraphrase, "But the Master said, 'You don't need more faith.  There is no more or less in faith.  If you have a bare kernel of faith, say the size of a poppy seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, "Go jump in the lake," & it would do it.' " 

      Jesus is telling his disciples—& he's telling us today—that we already have what it takes.  We don't have the luxury to sit around on our be-hinds & be-moan the fact that Hope is not the size nor does it have the wealth of St. Martin's.  Nope!  If we're gonna call ourselves Christians, we have to get up, brush ourselves off, & start exercising the gifts that God gives us.  After all, Jesus' disciples started out as a little band of men & women who took only their knapsacks with them as they began spreading the gospel throughout the known world.  Persecution & dislocation were often the means God used for the rest of the ancient world to hear & heed the Gospel message.  In contrast to the despair of the Israelites who lamented their exile in Babylon in the Lamentations' passage & the psalm today, those disciples—equipped as they were with the gifts of ministry which Jesus was teaching them in today's Gospel passage—changed the world as they knew it.  

      As an aside, I shudder as we read the last part of Psalm 137 today for the retributive justice the psalmist recommends in paying the Babylonians back for what they have done by dashing their little ones against the rock.  Such revenge is a far cry from Jesus' admonition that we must learn to forgive one who has wronged us 7 times daily, isn't it?  Yet, when terrible things happen to us, we often have to get through horribly vengeful thoughts before we can come to any kind of forgiveness.  The psalmist gives us permission to cry out to God who is big enough to take our most desperate cries of pain as we work our way through to loving our enemies.  God loves & accepts us even in our worst moments.

      I've heard it said that such faith as we're urged to develop in our scriptures is a verb.  Well, I think in this passage, faith is more like a muscle.  If you don't use it, it'll atrophy.  It'll just die, or at least shrink 'till it's no use.  I'm not as young as I used to be, & each morning, I have to get up & do some stretches so I'll be limber enough to get ready to come up here for worship or for other work.  I have to get out & walk with my little dog Sebastian each evening so we both get our exercise.  Faith is like that; we have to use it regularly, to behave like we have faith in God in order to expand that faith. 

      Further, I don't think Jesus used the mustard seed image by chance.  Remember that he's moving toward Jerusalem at this point in his life, & he has a pretty good idea he is facing death when he gets there.  When we think about it, a seed when it is planted has to end its career as a seed before anything new can come of it.  Likewise, Jesus had to die before the resurrection could occur & the messianic age could arrive.  Trees are often related to death & resurrection biblically.  Humans got in trouble at creation by means of the fruit of a tree, we are saved by the death of Jesus on a tree, and we live in the New Jerusalem under the shade of the tree of life whose leaves are for the healing of the nations.  As long as we're just hanging on to life, Jesus can't do anything for us.  We have to let go, give up, & give it over to Jesus in order for our new creation—even more creative than the first—to begin. 

      When Danita, Cornelius, Melanie & I were in Los Angeles for the multicultural training in August, we kept being confronted with these images of the necessity of death before new and healthier life could occur, & I really didn't want to hear it.  After all, I've coped with death quite a bit over the past couple of years—both my husband Bill's & many other kinds of loss—& the idea of the old having to pass away for the new to come here at Hope seemed awfully radical.  Yet the past several months have been just that movement for Hope as well as for me.  Even the old air conditioner had to die in order for us to "get" that it's time to invest in the future with a new one. 

      We at Hope are examining much of "the way things have always been" to decide if the tried & true ways still serve us well.  In many cases, we're seeing that we must find new ways of being church in order to bloom forth as a 21^st Century creation.  In coming out of my own denial, I realized it was time for us to grieve whatever our past losses are that we can't go back & reclaim in order for there to be space in our hearts & heads & souls for Christ to plant new things.  Thus, we began the Growing Gracefully through Grief series last week.  It's not too late for you to join the good-sized group which has already begun.  Grief facilitator Dixie Mullins will begin a 7-week series on Tuesday evening the 16^th at 7:00 p.m. to gain peace with our past & open us to new possibilities, personally & as a church community.  Please come & be part, no matter what your grief or griefs may be.

      As I began to look at the promise of new life in the gospel, the pain of that which was lost described in Paul's letter to Timothy.  Paul tells his young disciple that he can't slack off just because the excitement & glow he received when Paul laid hands on him has faded some.  Timothy has experienced persecution just as Paul has, so he encourages Timothy not to lose heart.  He commends Timothy's mother's & even his grandmother's faith, urging him to "rekindle the gift of God that is within you." What do we rekindle? A fire—right?  We take a stick & stir the embers so the fire will flame back up. 

      You have several other opportunities at Hope this fall to receive fuel for the fire of rekindled spirituality.  We already had Sunday & Wednesday worship, Sunday morning Christian formation for all ages including adult Bible Study, prayer & study with our Daughters of the King & Brotherhood of St. Andrew & most recently with our newly reorganized Episcopal Church Women.  Elizabeth provides Bible Study for the Youth About Christ weekly as well as other activities for them.  Also, THIS Wednesday precisely at noon we'll begin a Brown Bag Community Bible Study, lasting about an hour & giving those who prefer daytime the opportunity to personalize the scripture for the following Sunday.

      What Paul told his disciple Timothy, he also tells us today.  Paul says, "God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power & love & self-discipline."  You see, what Paul is telling Timothy, Jesus also told his disciples.  Paul says, "God saved us & called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose & grace." 

      One of the questions in the Catechism is "What is the ministry of the laity?" The answer is, "The ministry of lay persons is to represent Christ & his Church; to bear witness to him wherever they may be;  &, according to the gifts given them, to carry on Christ's work of reconciliation in the world; & to take their place in the life, worship, & governance of the Church."  (Book of Common Prayer, page 855)

      First, you're to represent Christ & his Church, to bear witness to Christ wherever you go.  If you re-present someone, it means that you act as much like him or her as you possibly can.  To bear witness to Christ is to behave as much like Christ as you know how to do.  I think this is one place Paul's advice to Timothy fits our situation entirely.  Paul asks Timothy to join with him in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God.  Do we really believe we can rely on God's power in our everyday lives?  If so, we need to act like it 24/7.

      Next we're told we're to carry on Christ's work of reconciliation in the world according to the gifts given to each of us.  Reconciliation means we're to find ways to be at peace with one another, breaking down the barriers between us & other people, even those people who are very different from us.  Reconciliation means we're to listen to each other, trying to see someone else's viewpoint, or at least to accept that they have a right to their own opinions.  Reconciliation means we're to pray for those people who trouble us the most as well as for those whom it is easy to love. 

      I think it's interesting that the lay people's ministry in the larger world is mentioned even before taking "their place in the life, worship, & governance of the Church."  Participation in church activities is certainly important, but our behavior out in the world should be consistent with our work in the church.

      Since we are a Christian community, we are called to be part of the development & the mission of our church.  It takes all of us to reach out to those who most need our mission &, in so doing, we also grow in our own faith, sort of like we were talking about in the first part of this sermon, exercising our faith muscles, trusting that mustard seed of faith we've been given as gift from God.  So we're called to be Christ-like regardless of whether we are rewarded or even if we're persecuted.  Why?  Because acting on our faith is how we're created to behave.  This month we're hearing a lot about our giving our whole lives to Christ—time, talent, & treasure.  May we act boldly & then say, "we have done only what we ought to have done!"